Deus ex machina?

i thought that deus ex machina meant god in a machine, like a machine that ran itself, but i learned something about the intervention of the gods, can someone please explain to me what the hell it really means? i really don't get it, and it's going to be a test question in two days. thank you!

Blessed BeDeus ex machina?
Good answers above, here's an even shorter answer: It is the cop-out when the writers of a movie, play, or book can't think of a logical way out of the cell for the hero, so the door to the cell just happens to pop open.Deus ex machina?
Its an unexpected or unplausible ending.



It came from Roman/Greek plays where the play would end suddenly or unrealistically, and it was explained by it being the work of the gods.



Often, a character would be raised from the stage by ropes, or lowered into the area underneath the stage. Hence, mechanisms. Hence, machinery of the gods.Deus ex machina?
The phrase deus ex machina ['de.?s eks 'ma?k?i.na?] (literally "god out of a machine") describes an unexpected, artificial, or improbable character, device, or event introduced suddenly in a work of fiction or drama to resolve a situation or untangle a plot (e.g. an angel suddenly appearing to solve problems).



The Latin phrase "deus ex machina" has its origins in the conventions of Greek tragedy. It refers to situations in which a mechane (crane) was used to lower actors playing a god or gods onto the stage. Though the phrase is accurately translated as "God from a machine," in literary criticism, it is often translated to "God on a machine." The machine referred to in the phrase is the crane employed in the task. It is a calque from the Greek '?π? μηχαν?? θε??' ápo mēchanēs theós, (pronounced in Ancient Greek [a po' m?:k?a'n?:s t?e'os]).



The Greek tragedian Euripides is notorious for using this plot device as a means to resolve a hopeless situation. For example, in Euripides' play Alcestis, the eponymous heroine agrees to give up her own life to Death in exchange for him sparing the life of her husband, Admetus. In doing so, however, she imposes upon him a series of extreme promises. Admetus is torn between choosing death or choosing to obey these unreasonable restrictions. In the end, though, Heracles shows up and seizes Alcestis from Death, restoring her to life and freeing Admetus from the promises. The first person known to have criticized the device was Aristotle in his Poetics, where he argued that the resolution of a plot must arise internally, following from previous action of the play.



Ancient Roman dramatists continued the use of the device.